A Gory Demise
by MinakoEguchi
Summary: Hinata's wish was to sit, old, surrounded by her grandchildren, her husband by her side. Her wish would now never come true.


_A is for Amber who drowned in a pool_

Shrieks of strange, echoing laughter rumbled all around the giant stone cavern. Hinata stared at all these weird people, shivering in her wet clothing. She nibbled her lower lip worriedly, her jaw trembling so much with fear and cold that her teeth sliced through the soft flesh easily.

She could not see the owners of the voices- only the twisted shapes dancing around madly against the solid rock. A tear formed in her eye. Were was she? Was she in hell? She hadn't done anything wrong! Was it for being a burden when she was younger? Or for falling for Naruto, despite the fact he was in love with Sakura and Kiba felt something for Hinata herself? But if that was the case, then Sakura and Ino would go to hell too!

'_Calm down, Hinata! Everything will be alright. Kiba, Shino and Genma-sensei will be looking for you, and will be here in a minute. Now, try to remember what happened.'_

She was tracking a member of Akatsuki- Zetsu, she thought his name was- with her byakugan in the undergrowth when she lost sight of him. She hurried on though the woods, ignoring Kiba's impatient calls to her. She needed to find him. Her father called her weaker than her sister Hanabi, and she was determined to prove him wrong.

However, she carried on and ran too far through the bushes, and didn't see where her footing was. Suddenly, she was underwater, and try as she might, she couldn't reach the surface. Something was grabbing onto her ankle, and was holding her down. She looked, and saw a half-black, half-white face enclosed in a venus flytrap. She squealed at seeing Zetsu's face, and tried to kick to become free. It was no use. He was stronger than her. She tried every jutsu she could remember, but without oxygen, it was impossible. She was desperate for air at this point, but was losing conciousness fast.

Her lungs felt like they were collapsing, and in a state of desperation, she took a gulp of air, despite the fact she knew she would be breathing in water. She choked, and her world went black.

She awoke here. Had someone saved her? Was she dead? She hoped it was the former.

A tall figure was walking towards her. She shied away, an automatic repsonse left over form her childhood. If only Neji-kun or Kiba-kun was here. She wanted her cousin and best friend with her, and thinking about them made her heart sore.

"Do not be afraid, my dear. I am here to help you." Hinata's grey eyes bulged in mistrust. "Come here, sweet girl." She took a step back, feeling the coldness of the stone wall poke through her sopping shirt.

The man stepped in to the light. Hinata screamed.

His skin was hanging off him in rotten clumps, and in certain places you could see his milky skull. His clothes were holey and mouldy. His eye- the other appeared to be an empty socket, and made Hinata feel nauseas- stared at her, open insanly wide.

She began to cry in loud, broken sobs. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't dead. She was _not_! She couldn't be. She was sixteen, an age where most people were only just starting to realise who they really are, or want to be. Hinata hadn't reached that stage yet, but had wanted to. Now she wouldn't receive what she had always wanted- loving family, with her husband sitting by her side and their children and grandchildren sitting around them…

Sixteen was not old. Sixteen was not the right age to die at. But as she peered past the man's shoudler, she began to work out shapes, and many looked like children. One turned and waved at her, and she felt like she was going to vomit again. The child's face was rotten like the man's, but they had more bone visable, and their clothes were more torn. She could see their ribs through their clothing.

She turned around and emptied to contents of her stomach.

The man clucked sympathetically. "Poor, poor girl. Do not worry, you will grow used to it. And once your body itself has completely disintergrated, you will move on to the next world- you will still be yourself, and will have your body back. There you can join your family and reunite with friends. You will be able to recognise them there."

Bile rose in her throat again. The same thing would happen to her. "H-how long does t-the body take to break down?"

The man smiled sweetly- the way it made his face twist was grotesque- and replied; "It depends. Sometimes merely years, sometimes decades. No, it does not follow the same pattern as your corpse. It depends how you died. By the looks of things, you drowned, no? Well, unfortunatly, drowning takes one of the longest times. The only one that is longer than it is if you fell into a bog. I suppose it is the same as drowning, but peat preserves souls better. If you have plenty of wounds, your soul will rot quicker."

He saw Hinata hesitating. "Do you want to join the party?"

She shook her head frantically. He grabbed her arm, and a rotted lump of flesh fell to the floor. She gagged, and another load of tears slipped down her pale cheeks. "Oh, come on, sweetheart. It will be fun."

"No, n-no, no, no, n-no!" She wailed. "I-I don't want t-to!"

He nodded. "Like I said, the annual party only happens once a year. We go through every way people die. Where did you drown? In a pool?"

Too scared to ignore him, she replied. "In a lake, I t-think."

He shook his head. "You are a shinobi are you not? I can see by your headband. Tut tut, not a clever thing to do. You look like a Hyuuga. Are you? What is your name? And, bless you, you do not need to stutter at every single word!" He pressed two fingers to her forehead.

"Hyuuga Hinata." She murmured, and was surprised that the contact she despised so much had actually stopped her speech impedament.

The grotesque grin was back. "Hinata? Means facing the sun or sunflower, doesn't it, hmm? Well, a pretty name matches a pretty face. Come with me, Hinata. It will be much more interesting than watching from the sidelines. You can also make friends here."

Hinata gulped. Maybe, for her friend Ino, she could look for Sarutobi Asuma. Then again, if he was as rotten as the man in front of her, she would never want to see him again. But if she did that for Ino, could she look out for the old woman her other friend, Sakura, had grown fond of? Chiyo-baa-sama, or something?

No, she would do all that later. First she needed to find her feet.

The man was still waiting for an answer. "Do you want to go, or not?" He growled, becoming impatient. She held out her arm, allowing him to take it. She just hoped he wouldn't grasp her hand.

A slimy, cold appendage wrapped itself around her delicate white fingers. She groaned in her head. His fingers, clasped around her own, looked worse than his face. Even better than that, skin was dropping off onto her hand. She bit her lip and focused on her family. A hurting heart was better than throwing up again, she decided.

As they drew closer to the heart of the party, Hinata could see all the bodies in full view. It was no longer a surprise to see flesh and mould and bones peeking out after talking to the man and seeing the child. In fact, when she came across a person with little to no blemishes, it felt strange. She still wanted to gag at times, but was slowly becoming used to the sights there were to behold.

Her heels clacked noisily against the dusty floor, something she had never thought was possible. In her head, she decided to try to discover which were shinobi and which were civilians. It was easily right from the start, as not only did shinobi wear headbands, but they also had worse wounds, and were more… corpse-like.

She scanned the crowd for anyone she knew, but there were so many she was quickly confused. Several times she thought she saw someone who looked like her sensei's lover, and occasionaly she thought she saw her mother staring up at her with her wide grey eyes, identical to her own.

Thinking about her mother made her feel homesick, and immeadiatly she wanted to run and hide to mourn for the family and friends she wouldn't see for years to come.

The hand around her own was suddenly missing. She blinked a few times, and spun slowly around. Every eye was staring at her. Every face was looking her way. Her eyes widened in horror. She didn't have to make a speech, did she?

The man, whoever he was, clapped his hands. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to a new member. This is Hyuuga Hinata. She drowned in a lake only about half an hour ago! I dearly hope that if you know her, please take care of her, and if you don't… Well, just make her feel welcome. I wish you all a happy Hallowe'en!"

A roar of praise shook the ground. Hinata felt a million hands pulling at her clothes, yanking her towards them. She spun around, trying to take in their faces, but it was hard. Her head began to spin, and she wanted to go home, though she knew it was impossible. Her heart longed for Hanabi's arms, and she wondered if anyone had discovered her body yet. _'Give it another few days,'_ she told herself. If they did find her corpse, would they tell her family straight away, or would they hold on for a few minutes? When would her funeral be? Who would attend? What if no-one attended at all?

People were pushing her and shoving her around. Her head rolled from side to side. She couldn't feel aby sort of heat, but a peculiar feeling rushed over her, like she was too hot. Her body- or soul- began to sway.

She collapsed in the middle of the group of poking and shoving people. They backed off, and 'the man' rushed through, bending down to scoop Hinata up in his arms. He walked over to the edge of the hall. No-one followed, but every eye was on his retreating figure.

He reached a dark part of the hall, and laid the fragile girl against the wall. "Hinata?" He called. "Hinata? Hyuuga-sama?" Touching her eyelids, he beckoned someone to grab a glass of cool liquid. They hurried over, and placed a jug beside him.

He dipped two fingers inside the jug, and stroked them across her sweaty forehead. He poured a little chakra into his fingertips, and watched as she began to wake up from her comatose state.

She moaned. He poured a little of the clear liquid- it was not water, yet they had no name for it- on her hair, letting it trickle down her pale, pale face. She made more whimpering noises, and whispered "No, no! Let me go home! I hate this place! I want to go _home_!"

He let a sad smirk settle on his ripped lips. The girl was not going back home anytime soon, and if she did, it was to haunt the Hyuuga estate, mourning for her family. Her lips moved in the shape of "Shikamaru-kun." and "Shino-kun." and "Chouji-kun.". He wondered who these people were, but judging by the calm, peaceful look that flooded over her face as she said those names, they must be close to her.

She then mouthed another name. "N-Naruto-kun." She mumbled, and her face creased in pain. "Sakura-san." The same look of pain flooded her features, and a tear formed in her eye. "Ino-san." More tears formed. "K-Kiba-kun, Neji-nii-sama, H-Hanabi-chan!" The tears slipped down her face, mingling with the liquid already there. He sighed. These people must be the closer than the first three.

"Kaa-san. Tou-san. Kurenai-sensei." She breathed, and her eyes flickered open. Disappointment swept over her features, and her face crumpled.

He waved his hand in her face. "Please do not cry!" He begged. "It will only hurt more if you sit around and mourn for your lost loved ones. I may not know any of them, but you must come to terms with the fact you will not see them for a very long time."

She looked away from him, but nodded curtly. "Yes. I know. I know I must deal with this, but it will take time. That is all I'm asking for. I suppose it would be easier if one of my friends were here, but I know that when they come- if I am still here- then I shall help them as much as I can."

He smiled wanly at her. "Well done. Now, I can see you are not the type be in the centre of attention. I am sorry, but I thought that looks can be deceiving. I was wrong. Now, if you will follow me, I have a special room that is waiting for you."

He rose and held out his hand. She took and was hauled to her feet. Although she still felt wobbly, the worst was over. She was determined to be able to deal with this. It would be hard, but she could deal with it.

He led her to a room with a date and time on it. She squinted, trying to work out what it meant. He saw her looking. "That is the time and date you died. For some reason, the day before you die, the date and time appear on the door. You are not the only one to arrive today. We have had three already today, but all were elders. And we are going to receive on a little later."

"O-oh." Was all she could say. "B-but what happened to 'one dies every three seconds.'?"

"Oh, indeed." He smiled. "There are different places like this for each village, major or minor. If you do not live in a village, but live in, say the Fire Country, there are places like this for you as well."

Hinata sighed. "D-do you k-know w-who the n-next p-person is?" She asked, voice trembling again.

The man stared at her. "No. We only know when they come. You're stuttering is getting a little worse." He noted. "Try this. It will give you more confidence when speaking. Your opinion is very important, you know." He handed her a small, perfectly round purple pill.

She stared at it. "H-how do I use it?"

"You suck it once a day for five minutes until your stuttering stops." He shrugged. "Simple, really. My grandmother created it for a cousin who had the same stuttering problem as you."

She smiled. "C-can I ask you a question?" She wondered.

"Fire away."

She took a deep breath. "Who _are _you?"

"Ah! I was wondering when you would ask me that, Hinata-sama." His smile was soft, and fatherly-like now. "You see, Hinata, I knew you when you wer very little. I am your father's twin brother, Hizashi."

She gasped. She had never expected to see her uncle here. Now she thought about it, the similarities between he and her father were uncanny. "You are Neji's father, is that correct?" He nodded. "Oh, he has come a long way! Please, uncle, may I tell you about him?"

"Certainly, child." Her uncle smiled at her. Come inside your room, and you can tell me all you like."

XxXxX

"Hinata, where _are_ you?" A frantic voice called. "Hinata? Hinata?"

Kiba ran through the mist, sorely wishing he had not sent his faithful canine Akamaru off in the oposite direction to look for her. He also didn't know why he kept cutting himself. Stray branches, probably. He didn't care about that right now. All he needed to do was to find Hinata, and bring her back to Konoha.

His sensative nose twitched. It led him towards a dark, deep lake. The mist was in his face, across his arms, everywhere. He pushed through the leaves and branches, wincing as another five or so cuts adorned his body.

Yes, Hinata's scent was strongest here, but he couldn't see her. His eyesight wasn't great in mist if his life depended on it, but right now it seemed worse than ever. He was tired, felt ill and was sick to death of this dreary forest. All he had to do was to find his teammate (and love) and bring her back to Konoha. Back home.

"Hinata!" He wailed. "Hinata, where _are _you?"

He looked down into the water. A shiny, bluey-black leaf caught his eye.

'_Wait…' _He thought. _'Leaves aren't that colour.'_

His eyes widened as he realised what it was. It wasn't a leaf, but a strand of hair. Long hair. Bluey-black hair.

Hinata's hair.

Her pale face, peaceful and sleepy, came into view. It looked like she was floating. He growled in pain as another bracch whacked him and broke this skin, but he wasn't really paying attention.

The only thing he could really think about was the girl in front of him. He forced the chakra into his foot, and placed it on the still water. Once his weight was fully on, he knelt down and pulled her up.

She was cold, and wasn't breathing. He had no idea how long she had been in that lake for, but he sure as hell wasn't going to give up on her. After dragging her to the bank, he leaned over her and started to pump his hands on her chest.

"Hinata? Hinata, can you hear me? It's me, Kiba. You know? Dogface? Dogbreath? Stuff like that? You know Akamaru will miss you if you go away. So wake up!"

He placed his mouth on her and forced as much air into her lungs as possible. She wasn't wearing tight clothes, so he decided there was no point in removing them. He pushed his hands on her chest harder, _harder_, _harder_, in vain. She didn't stir.

"Hi-Hinata?" The words caught in his throat, and he felt choked up. "Come on, Hinata, wake up. Wake up!" A tear fell down his face and splashed onto her already wet cheek. "Please, Hinata, wake up! Wake up!"

The sobs broke through, harder than they ever had. Harder than when his Dad ran away, harder than when his sister got herself a boyfriend and spent less time with him. Harder than when he realised his chances with the girl in front of him were few and far between.

A scream ripped through his throat and he clutched her body tight. "This can't be happening!" He wept. "You can't be! You can't!"

He lay her down on the bank, and kissed her lips- a gesture that would have taken all his courage to perform if she was alive. "I just want you to know that you are the most wonderful woman alive, and I love you so, so much."

He lay down beside her, and allowed the branches to rip his skin to ribbons.

XxXxX

**Don't own Naruto or the song. Masashi Kishimoto and Creature Feature do.**


End file.
